Saylor makes big splash with $900M BTC purchase, largest buy since July

Strategy announced one of its highest weekly purchases of BTC for the past few months. The company added 10,624 BTC after a series of small-scale purchases under 500 BTC. 

Strategy continued its BTC buying streak, showing its playbook was still viable. The company added 10,624 BTC, a day after Executive Chairman Michael Saylor signaled another upcoming purchase. 

The company now holds 660,624 BTC, with an average purchase price of $70,624. 

The latest purchase also resolved a Polymarket prediction pair, where the odds of a purchase above 1,000 BTC spiked to 99% within minutes. The move was unexpected, as the biggest whale traders held larger positions on the ‘No’ token.

For Strategy, this week’s addition is the largest purchase since July 29, when the company managed to buy 21,021 BTC. The recent addition arrives after last week’s purchase of only 130 BTC, and one week of no additional buying. After the news, BTC remained within its usual range at $91,527.31.

After the latest purchase, BTC treasuries now hold 4.02M, of which only a part is held by strategic buyers. The rest is divided up among passive treasuries or incidental small-scale purchases. Companies now need 125 BTC to be featured among the top 100 treasuries. 

Strategy keeps issuing MSTR

Even at the current BTC price range, Strategy continued to issue MSTR common stock, for a total of $928.1M. The additional funds came from STRD, a junior preferred stock with 10% dividend. STRD is among the riskier common stocks, offering the highest dividend. Following the latest purchase, STRD traded at $79.30, within the middle of its range since launching in June. 

This time, Strategy spent all proceeds from the sale, for a total of $963M excluding fees in a more ambitious weekly acquisition. The company did not set aside any funds for its $1.44B fiat reserve, which it claims can roughly cover two years of dividend payments. 

Instead, Strategy managed to “buy the dip” on BTC, acquiring coins at a lower price range. Strategy’s playbook may work better in the case of an ongoing BTC bull market, but for now, the company has bought time on its obligations.

The BTC held in the treasury will not be sold for dividend payments, and there are no BTC-backed loans due at the current moment. 

MSTR trades near one-month low 

The latest common stock sale by Strategy happened despite the MSTR slump. MSTR shares traded at around $178, after bouncing from local lows under $160. 

Previously, Strategy stated it would not sell additional MSTR at a lower price range. However, it has not adjusted its playbook even with common stock dilution. MSTR faces a decision on its inclusion in the MSCI index on January 15, and its price may sink even lower after institutional selling. 

Strategy’s mNAV to market capitalization is now at 0.89, meaning the BTC treasury is more valuable compared to the market cap of MSTR. 

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